No dancing here for a week - but as the conference is about a mile away, I have been doing the next best thing (or maybe the same); practising my walking

My the object is to walk as effortlessly as possible and to explore the concept of swing. For me its one that has been rather elusive - I think I am swinging but there are actyually many different motions that have an element of swing and i am pretty sure that the gurus here would find them quite wrong and possibly even destructive. Hence my attempt to go for efficiency instead - how to move with the minimal expenditure of energy.

What I have ended up with is a very lubricated joint at the waist. A step is led by a rotation of that brings the moving leg-hip forward and in effect 'flings' the leg. When I do this 'right' (anyone??) I start feeling almost like a model walking the catwalk. Because my hip is brought forward I aslo end up with a longer step lenght. This certainly feels like a swinging action but I would love some comment on whether this is correct.

Just a quick comment: keep pondering, and don't have any expectations as to what the answer is going to be. Keep working on it and the answer will reveal itself. I know what I said sounded like something Yoda would (but with better grammar) but that's pretty much what DSV told me. The second I listened to her advice and let go of what I thought the answer would look like, I found the answer. Trust me, you'll know it when you find it, but just don't have any expectations as to what the answer will look like.

Not so much a model on a catwalk. If I may be so bold, keep trying to recreate the feeling of a swing-set while walking. You'll look a little strange doing it in public, but if you can master the swing-set, you're on the home stretch. You can practice the feeling of a swing-set even while sitting down and not moving a muscle. Just keep pondering that feeling and really try to create it within you. Then stand up and forget you have legs and try it again until it feels exactly like how it felt when you were sitting down.

So I've been playing with this - I have my leg swinging with my foot going almost beyond the step before landing - which is sort of what I was doing before but the increased hip action seems to make it even more efficient....

One thing though: doing this with straight legs is one thing it is quite different with a 'relaxed' knee...

You are actually got many of the basic concepts of movement right there. Well done.

Yes, they always move from their center (core) or whatever you want to call it. They reach for things by pulling in their center and elongating their body. Perfect little dancer and they don’t even know it.

Next they learn to roll over using the concept of separation of upper and lower body. This concept is described in the “Rule of Turn” in the “Body School of Thought”. Again a action that make a perfect little dancer.

All through this process they are using counter balance and the basic understanding of swing. Another couple of actions, which make them perfect little dancers!

I am so proud of you . You actually got some of the fundamental of movement namely; Center, Separation of upper and lower body, Counter Balance and Body Swing.

The amazing thing is, they are doing so many things right and they are not even up and standing, walking, running or dancing yet. I guess, now it is to understand why many dancers that learn to dance as children don’t really know what they are doing. They have basically done it all their life and it is the most natural thing to do. They can’t imagine why you would not do it that way.

Dora-Satya Veda

this is so truth. often i can hear how you do that. and for me that is normal. what you said about falling is correct. standing on a standing foot and swaying to do side you need to have a feeling of falling.

just one tip - land on the toes, not the full foot, because you'll look light.

Logged

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels.

Just a quick comment: keep pondering, and don't have any expectations as to what the answer is going to be. Keep working on it and the answer will reveal itself. I know what I said sounded like something Yoda would (but with better grammar) but that's pretty much what DSV told me. The second I listened to her advice and let go of what I thought the answer would look like, I found the answer. Trust me, you'll know it when you find it, but just don't have any expectations as to what the answer will look like.

Not so much a model on a catwalk. If I may be so bold, keep trying to recreate the feeling of a swing-set while walking. You'll look a little strange doing it in public, but if you can master the swing-set, you're on the home stretch. You can practice the feeling of a swing-set even while sitting down and not moving a muscle. Just keep pondering that feeling and really try to create it within you. Then stand up and forget you have legs and try it again until it feels exactly like how it felt when you were sitting down.

Wow, SG my main teachers would be proud of you. You are beginning to sound like them.

You are so right. I hope and pray that the dancers reading this will realize how profound what you are saying really is. Thank you for putting it out there.

You are welcome, Dora. I have the most incredible teacher that has helped me to see the simplicity of dancing. It is really quite ironic that it is so simple, yet the simplicity comes from understanding the complexity, she always says. I think another thing that plagues a couple is that they try to focus on too many things at one time. Learning comes in stages. It is helpful to have a teacher that doesn't cram a hundred items in one lesson. That's the beauty of my teacher. She gives an idea, a picture and a feeling on ONE thing.

You are welcome, Dora. I have the most incredible teacher that has helped me to see the simplicity of dancing. It is really quite ironic that it is so simple, yet the simplicity comes from understanding the complexity, she always says. I think another thing that plagues a couple is that they try to focus on too many things at one time. Learning comes in stages. It is helpful to have a teacher that doesn't cram a hundred items in one lesson. That's the beauty of my teacher. She gives an idea, a picture and a feeling on ONE thing.